


try to resist (surrender your heart)

by AtLoLevad



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 07:38:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15903825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtLoLevad/pseuds/AtLoLevad
Summary: Peter Stone finds himself falling for a witness in his trial. He knows it's wrong, but he just can't resist her.





	try to resist (surrender your heart)

"Ms. Sadler, please just tell me what happened, from the beginning," Peter Stone leaned back in his chair and made an effort to keep his tone calming - he'd learned that traumatized witnesses didn't respond well to sharp words and commanding tones.

The young woman in front of him blinked owlishly and sucked in a deep, dramatic breath before exclaiming, "Oh god, it was horrible, just horrible. Like, the worst thing. You never expect this to happen. I mean - the news is a pit of murder and despair, but you never expect it to happen to someone -"

"Ms. Sadler," Peter cut her off gently, "without all the editorializing, please?"

"Thea," she corrected him absently, wrinkling her nose.

Peter rubbed at his temple, "Ms. Sadler, please. I'd like to hear the story from you at least once today."

She frowned deeply, an expression that looked out of place on her face. Chewing gently on her lower lip, she mumbled, "okay, sure. The story," and then, looking suddenly vulnerable, shaken, and haunted, Thea Sadler began recounting the night, six months earlier, that her coworker had been raped and murdered backstage, just hours before the curtain was supposed to rise on opening night of the new Broadway musical, Pretty Woman.

Peter listened attentively as Thea worked through the night - pausing every so often when her voice broke. She still snuck in some editorializing - offering her opinion and breaking off on tangents that didn't necessarily have to do with details that Peter needed. He remained quiet, not even speaking when she paused for drinks of water. Often times, breaking a testifying witness' concentration created more problems since they stumbled to remember details. So, Peter listened and took notes, feeling a pang of sympathy as tears rolled down Thea's cheeks.

"I don't remember much after Detective Carisi got there," she said finally, nearly two hours after she had started her story. "Just...just sitting there, with Maya's blood on me, shaking. I just … it was a blur after that."

She shivered a little in her seat and Peter made a sympathetic noise.

"Thank you, Ms. Sadler. Detective Carisi's report fills me in on what happened after," he tapped absently on his legal pad, taking in Thea Sadler's puffy, red eyes and the way she was hunched in her chair. He made a decision quickly. "I do have a few questions for you, but we can get to those later. Carmen can schedule you another meeting for later in the week, if you're feeling up to it."

Thea faltered for a moment, floundering for words. "I… that would…" and then Peter watched as her spine straightened and her eyes grew serious, "No. I can keep going now, if you have the time."

Peter checked his watch and nodded. "I have the time. Would you like a coffee or something?"

"No, thank you," Thea smiled at him, showing off straight, white teeth. "I've hit my maximum quota for caffeine for the day."

Peter thought about the exuberant, cheery way she had greeted Carmen and entered his office and smirked to himself - yeah, of course this woman had a caffeine quota.

"Great," he gave her a small smile, "now, can you elaborate on exactly who was backstage with you?"

* * *

"Is Mr. Stone in?" Thea asked Carmen a few days later, holding a fairly large pasty box against her hip.

Carmen looked up, raised an eyebrow, and nodded. "He should be. There's nothing on his calendar for this afternoon."

"Great!" Thea grinned brightly, bouncing into Peter's office with a wave to Carmen.

Peter, head bent over his desk, didn't look up as he said, "Carmen, I had lunch, I swear."

"Well, that's good," Thea laughed, her eyes twinkling at the look of shock on Peter's face when he realized his visitor wasn't her secretary.

"Ms. Sadler," he greeted her once he got over his shock, "did we have a meeting?"

"Oh," Thea shook her head, "no. I just … I'm a little embarrassed about all the tears and hysterics from Monday. So, I brought desserts." She held out the pastry box, an offer of goodwill.

Peter smiled kindly, but a little awkwardly. He fidgeted in his seat, "Thank you. It really was unnecessary though. I understand what you're going through as we prepare for trial."

Thea shrugged gently, "Unnecessary or note, I wanted to. Besides, I don't sleep much, not since … well, either way, i was awake and baking calms me. I can't feed all this to my coworkers - they'll accuse me of trying to sabotage them so they can't fit into their costumes." She let out a loud laugh and Peter found himself smiling. She was charming, even if her tendency for excited babbling was a little much sometimes.

'Well, thank you then," Peter stood up. "I'll have Carmen put them in the conference room - I'm sure the rest of the office will be happy to see some dessert."

"Do you not eat dessert?" Thea asked, wide-eyed. "Because, wow, that's terrible. I can't imagine going through life without baklava."

Peter raised a curious eyebrow. "Is there baklava in there?" he gestured to the box with his chin.

"Yup," Thea grinned widely, a dimple forming in her left cheek. "I'm Greek. Everything in this box is greek!"

"Maybe I'll snag a piece of baklava then," Peter said, smiling. "I miss the greek food in Chicago. I haven't been able to find something good here yet."

Thea set the box down on the edge of Peter's desk and popped the lid, allowing him access. He took a honey soaked piece of dessert and smiled this thanks as she said - "Definitely head out to Astoria then! I could give you a list of fifteen places off the top of my head that will beat any place in Chicago."

"I doubt that," Peter laughed, vaguely aware in the back of his mind that they conversation could come dangerously close to flirting. He forced himself to gesture to the door, "I can walk you over to the conference room on your way out."

A flicker of disappointment flashed across Thea's face, but it was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared and then she was nodding. "Yes, of course. I just wanted to thank you again, Mr. Stone. This hasn't been easy … and well, you and Lieutenant Benson's team have been so kind."

"It's our job, Ms. Sadler," Peter said. "We're happy to do it."

Thea nodded and they were quiet the rest of the way to the conference room. She offered up a bright smile upon leaving the pastries and waved to Peter, "Well, off to the theater. I'm still not sure how they could go on with the show, but money talks, right?"

"Right," Peter agreed. "Be safe. I'll have Carmen email you to set up a time to go through a direct and a possible cross with you."

"Sounds good to me." Thea's smile faded, "He's going away for this, right? The case is strong?"

Her voice wavered and Peter instinctively reached a hand out and rested it on her shoulder. He smiled as encouragingly as he could, "I am going to do everything I can to make sure he gets convicted, Ms. Sadler."

Some of the tension seeped from her shoulders. "Okay, good. I trust you, Mr. Stone."

She looked like she wanted to say something else, but changed her mind. Waving goodbye, Thea headed for the elevator, a slight bounce in her step. Peter waited until he couldn't see her anymore before heading back to his office.

A short while later, Olivia and her team came to his office to discuss another case.

"Thea Sadler was here. Huh?" Carisi commented with a bright smile.

"What?" Peter looked around, almost guiltily, even though he had no reason to feel guilty.

Sonny laughed, ' Saw the big box of desserts in the conference room. She brought the same to us last week."

"Yeah," Fin chimed in, "those almond cookies were damn good."

"Oh," Peter nodded, "yes. She stopped by earlier."

He didn't offer up any more information, feeling strangely annoyed that he hadn't been the only one to get desserts. Shaking the thought away, Peter turned to the cae file in front of him and began outlining the evidence the unit had given him.

* * *

"Where the fuck is she, Carisi?" Peter growled into his phone, pacing the hallway in front of the courtroom.

"Not at her apartment," Sonny said on the other end of the line. "She was supposed to meet us at the precinct and Fin was gonna walk her over."

"Dammit," Peter smacked his hand against the wall. "I should've known. She was squirrelly at our last meeting."

Sonny made a dissatisfied noise. "She's scared. After what she saw, testifyin' wasn't gonna be easy."

"Thank you, Dr. Carisi," Peter rolled his eyes. "Let me know if you find her."

"Yeah," Sonny agreed. "No need to be a dick about it, Stone."

Peter let out a frustrated grunt as Sonny hung up on the other end - angry that still, after nearly a year with SVU, he was getting roadblockas and angry detectives that felt like he wasn't on their side enough. He wondered what it would take to earn their trust.

He took a deep, calming breath and dialled Thea's number again, hoping she'd pick up and say she was on her way.

"Mr. Stone?" she sounded confused as to why he'd be calling her.

"Jesus, finally," he muttered, relieved that she'd picked up. "Where are you?"

The line was silent for a beat before Thea answered. "Somewhere," she said cryptically, a note of fear edging into her voice.

Peter got angry. "Dammit! You're supposed to testify today! Cut the fucking dramatics. I can't convict without your testimony. I'm sending Fin and Carisi to pick you up. Where are you?"

"No!" Thea yelped. "No! Please don't send them. I...I'm not," she burst into tears, startling Peter, "I'm not testifying. I can't!"

Peter tried to talk over her crying. "Ms. Sadler, please come to my office and we can figure something out. Did Jovacovic threaten you? Tell me where you are and I'll send Detective Carisi. Please."

Thea was silent, save for her tears, and Peter paced the hallway, getting increasingly worried about both his witness and his case. Finally, Thea whispered, "I'm at my brother's, in Montauk."

"Thank you," Peter's shoulders relaxed and he could finally talk without sounding like he was choking on his words.

"Stay there, please," he implored. "When I hang up, I'm going to get Detective Carisi to come get you right away, okay?"

Thea was silent and Peter sighed. He tightened his jaw, "Ms. Sadler, please tell me you understand."

"I understand," she murmured. "Please, please don't make me testify."

Forcing himself to soften his voice, Peter replied, "Just wait for Detective Carisi. We'll talk about everything in my office, okay?"

"Okay," she sighed resignedly, hanging up the phone.

Peter immediately called Sonny. "She's in Montauk at her brother's. Please pick her up."

"Told ya she got scared," Sonny replied. "Fin an' I'll go get her."

"Thank you," Peter said. "Please bring her to me office and wait with her if I'm not there."

"You got it," Sonny agreed easily and as he hung up, Peter could hear him telling Fin to get his bathing suit.

Peter stuck his phone into his inside jacket pocket and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and exhaling a harsh breath. He hated when witnesses fled - it made his job much harder since he had to go in and beg the judge for a recess to get everything in order. Juries hated the disruption because it meant they had to sit in the box longer and the defense attorneys loved it because it gave them an opening to attack the prosecution's case. At least they had found Thea quickly this time.

He squared his shoulders and pushed the doors to the courtroom open - ready to fight.

* * *

Nearly seven hours later, Peter was sitting at his desk, knocking back Advil while he waited. He rubbed at his temples, trying to ignore the dull ache in his head. Judge Burke had given him the recess, but that hadn't been the end of it.

No, he'd then spent nearly three hours in a discussion with Igor Jovacovic's attorney - shouting about witness tampering charges and her asinine suggestion of a plea deal. He'd left the conference room ready to put his fist through a wall.

He was just trying to calm down so he didn't make Thea any more nervous and anxious than she already was. All he wanted was for her to testify and end this nightmare trial.

There was a knock at his door that could only be Fin and Carisi with his witness, so Peter shouted, "come in," and took a swig of cold coffee to brace himself. Fin came in first, giving him a look that could only be described as "good luck, man," which did wonders for Peter's confidence.

Thea was next, looking scared and tired and small with Sonny's suit jacket draped around her shoulders. Something sharp clawed at Peter's stomach at the sight, be he pushed it down and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat, everyone."

None of them sat.

Peter rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Oh, come on. I'm not the principal. None of you are in trouble."

Chuckling, Fin sat, "I still don't know why I'm staying, but go ahead, Stone."

Thea sat in the chair next to him, refusing to meet Peter's eyes and Sonny stood above her chair - a protective hand resting on the chair's back.

"You're not in trouble, Ms. Sadler," Peter promised. "I need to know if Jovacovic threatened you."

She looked at Fin and then Sonny and only after both men gave her encouraging nods, did she answer. "Yes," she sighed, "a few times. But last night was the worst. He … one of his men … I don't know, someone followed me on my whole routine. They got backstage." She shivered, pulling Sonny's jacket tighter around her frame. "No one stopped him. He … if I testified, he was going to kill me too."

Thea looked at Peter for the first time since coming into his office. Her hazel eyes were wide with fear. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Stone. I can't. I can't do it."

"Detective Carisi, Detective Tutuola, would you mind going to the precinct and gathering the evidence that I would need to charge Jovacovic with witness tampering?" Peter requested nicely. "I just want to talk to Ms. Sadler for a minute and then I'll make sure she gets to a safe place."

Both Fin and Sonny hesitated for a minutes, but once they realized Peter was sincere and would take care of Thea, they agreed.

As they left, Sonny mumbled to Fin, "I better call Jules and tell her to save me some lasagna. Dom's like a garbage disposal these days."

Fin laughed, "He's only seven, thought you had a few years for that?" A pause, then, "Hey, think she'd save me a piece too?"

They closed the door behind them and suddenly Peter was alone with Theat. She still had Carisi's jacket around her shoulders and she was slumped in the chair, looking exhausted.

"Are you hungry?" Peter asked suddenly, surprising himself.

Thea looked startled. "I ….um, actually, yes."

"Good," Peter gave her a genuine smile, already pulling up Seamless on his computer. "How do you feel about Italian? Carisi mentioned his wife's lasagna and it sounded good."

"Italian's good," Thea replied, looking a little more comfortable now that Peter's manner had relaxed.

"I'll order from Forlini's. They make a damn good chicken parm." he smiled again, clicking and adding far too much food to his Seamless order. He'd just have leftovers for a few days. "And they're close, so it won't take too long."

He went back and forth, asking her what she wanted, until the bill was astronomical - mostly due to Peter's own healthy appetite. They were quiet while they waited for the food, eventually loosening up after Peter ran down to the elevator to grab the bags from the delivery man.

"I can lower the air in here, if you're still cold," Peter said, taking the containers out of the bag and setting them on the table across from his desk.

"Oh," Thea shook her head at herself, touching the sleeves of Sonny's jacket. "I kind of forgot I was wearing it. It's actually a nice temperature in here." She slid out of the jacket and carefully folded it over the back of the chair she'd been sitting in.

"He'll pick it up tomorrow," Peter said in response to the question she hadn't asked. "Sit. Let's eat."

"Thanks, Mr. Stone," she smiled at him and settled in, starting to poke at the order of gnocchi. "You know," she observed, "you're not as intimidating as you first appear."

"Uh, thanks?" Peter raised an eyebrow, diggingjntk his chicken parm.

"It's a compliment," she reassured him. "I really am sorry about today. Here I am, being an asshole and screwing everything up and you've been so nice to me."

"It's fine," Peter said, hoping his tone was reassuring despite the fact that he was still kind of annoyed about the last seven hours. "It's not your fault Jovacovic threatened you."

"I shouldn't have run away though," she grumbled. "I'm not usually like that."

Peter shrugged. "I sorted everything out. As long as you don't do it to me again, I'll forget this ever happened. Deal?"

"Deal," Thea smiled, a little hesitantly, but Peter was confident she wouldn't skip out on him tomorrow.

"So, how was the beach?" he asked conversationally, grabbing the container of spaghetti bolognese. He resisted the urge to stuff his face - he was starving, having skipped lunch, but didn't want to look like a slob.

Thea's cheeks turned pink. "I never went to the beach. I got out to my brother's place about an hour before you called me."

She picked at a piece of garlic bread. "To be honest, I wasn't going to answer your last call."

"Why did you?" Peter leaned forward, curious.

Lifting one shoulder in a shrug, Thea replied, "I….uh, didn't want to disappoint you any more than I already had."

The air suddenly felt thicker in his office and Peter swallowed. He rubbed his hand over his jaw and knew his next words would be important. He felt like he was standing on a ledge and had to make a choice.

"Everything will be fine as long as you're in Judge Burke's courtroom tomorrow morning at 9:30," Peter said, his jaw a little tight. Thea's wrinkled nose and the slightly disappointed twist of her lips made Peter feel like a bastard.

"I'll be there," she said quickly, pasting an overly bright smile on her face. "I guess I should head home now."

"No," Peter said, and for one heart-stuttering second, Thea thought he might … well, she hoped he'd ask her to stay with him But, no.

Instead, Peter's sentence ended with, "I'm taking you to a hotel we use for witnesses from out of town. It's safer since Jovacovic was having you followed."

"Oh, right," Thea nodded. "That….makes sense." More sense than Peter Stone suddenly making a move.

"Detective Rollins will pick you up in the morning and bring you to your apartment to change," Peter finished.

"Great, yeah. Perfect," Thea nodded along, following after him as he gathered the leftovers and put them in the fridge in the corner of his office. She couldn't help but allow her gaze to track his movements - he was a gorgeous, fit man.

She chastised herself as they drove to the hotel - he was a prosecutor and she was a witness. Gettig invovled with her could damage the case and she wanted Igor Jovacovic to go away for a long time. Peter Stone was off-limits and she needed to get over it.

Besides, he was probably already seeing someone - men that good looking didn't stay single for long.

* * *

"Thank you, Ms. Sadler," Peter said, returning to his seat, "You've been a wonderful witness."

Thea, eyes red, but tear free, looked over at the judge. He nodded at her, "You may step down now,"

She hurried off the witness stand, catching Peter's eye before being led out of the courtroom through the back entrance.

He held eye contacts and gave her a small, nearly imperceptible smile. Thea's stomach flipped and she grinned back at him.

'You did good,' he mouthed at her, just before the door closed and Thea was officially done with the ordeal of testifying. She felt lighter, and proud of what she'd done - staying calm and poised on the stand, just as she'd practiced with Peter. Her disappearing act of the day before nearly forgotten, all that was left was to wait for the jury's verdict.

* * *

A week and a half later, Peter found himself standing on line outside of the Nederlander Theatre - home to Pretty Woman The Musical.

The jury had literally handed down the Jovacovic verdict forty-five minutes earlier and Peter had the strongest urge to tell Thea in person. So now, just about three hours before curtain for the 8pm show, Peter was outside the theatre, trying to figure out a way to get inside without a ticket.

The line looped around the block, proving that even murder didn't deter ticket sales. Peter sighed - he probably should've been glad that a whole group of people still had their jobs, but it felt weird, that these people bought tickets to a show where the lead had been killed. Either way, he stayed on line, listening to the people around him chatter about their excitement to see the show. Thankfully, they were mostly talking about the return of the lead actor to Broadway, after his last show had ended too soon

Eventually, Peter reached the front of the line and when the ticket scanner asked for his ticket? he smiled at the woman and said, "Sorry, can I see James Donoghe, the stage manager? I'm ADA Peter Stone," figuring that would be the best way to get inside.

The woman frowned, asked Peter for identification, and after he showed her his shield, relented and asked him to wait just inside the lobby while she sent someone to get the stage manager. Peter didn't mind - he leaned against the wall and started scrolling through the accumulation of emails on his iPhone.

He was scheduling a plea conference when the stage manager appeared in front of him.

"Mr. Donoghe," Peter stuck his hand out and slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Good to see you."

"You too," the other man nodded. "This about Maya's case?"

"Yes," Peter smiled. "I just wanted to inform everyone that the jury handed down a guilty verdict on all charges."

The stage manager seemed to let out a relieved sigh and managed a tired smile. "What a relief. You can imagine all the stress we've been under. Trying to open the show successfully while still missing Maya. The verdict will be a comfort to everyone. I'll let them know. Thank you, Mr. Stone."

"I'm only doing my job, Mr. Donogue," Peter gave an easy smile. "Do you mind if I go back and tell Thea Sadler myself?" She was the witness that really pushed the jury to convict."

"Uh, sure," James nodded. "Curtain's up in a little bit, so make it quick?"

"Of course," Peter nodded, and then, after being pointed in the direction of the dressing areas, headed off to find Thea.

She saw him first. Her eyes went wide and eyebrows raised as she said, "Mr. Stone? What happened?"

"Nothing bad," Peter promised. "The jury came back with a guilty verdict."

"Oh!" Thea dropped the jacket in her hands and covered her mouth. "Oh my god! This is - thank you!" She fumbled over the words and rushed forward to wrap Peter in a hug.

He stiffened for a minute, not expecting the hug, but eventually softened and wrapped his arms loosely around her back. He patted her shoulder, "Just doing my job, Ms. Sadler. You were the witness that made it possible for the guilty verdict."

Pulling away from the hug, Thea carefully wiped at the tears gathered in her eyes so she wouldn't smear her make-up. "Maya was one of my best friends and you made a truly horrible situation almost bearable. So. Thank you." She smiled sincerely, "And I'm sorry again for skipping town when I was supposed to testify the first time."

Peter waved a hand in the air. "What matters is that you stepped up and testified." He shuffled in place, a little awkwardly, "Anyway, I'm thrilled with the verdict, hopefully sentencing will go just as well. Break a leg tonight."

He smiled, and despite wanting to stay, he turned and headed to leave. There was something compelling about Thea Sadler, but she was much too young for him and getting involved with a witness - even a former one - wasn't a good look.

Thea called after him, "Peter - Mr. Stone -?"

Peter turned.

"I still have one of my comp tickets for tonight's show," she said slowly. "Would you - would you like to stay?"

Her hazel eyes were wide with anticipation and Peter found himself desperate to say yes - if only to see a smile spread across her face. She gave him a small smile and raised her eyebrows hopefully.

"I would love to," he started, a guilty feeling growing in his gut as her smile grew, "but...I really shouldn't."

Thea's smile faltered and Peter felt the need to rush and explain ethical rules about taking a gift from a witness, but he sounded hollow, even to his own ears. She plastered on a smile that looked real - she was an actress, Peter remembered dumbly - and waved her hand through the air, saying, "Oh, it's fine. Of course. I understand completely." And she almost sounded convincing as she said, "Thanks for stopping by, Mr. Stone. I appreciate it."

"Uh...right. Bye, then," Peter said stupidly, waving like an idiot and feeling very far from the hotshot Cubs baseball player who used to have women throwing themselves at him.

He left the theatre, annoyed with himself and wondering why Thea Sadler left him feeling so off-kilter.

* * *

Two and a half months later, as he was waiting to meet with a witness for a new trial, Peter stepped into a mid-town coffee shop. Exhausted, he ordered a large coffee with several extra shots of espresso, hoping it would keep him awake.

He smacked right into someone as he was leaving - guilty of looking at his phone when he should have been watching where he was going.

"Crap!" he exclaimed, holding his dripping and now mostly empty cup away from both bodies. "Shit, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

His "victim" laughed at little, "I'm just glad it was iced coffee. I hate - " she broke off and looked up. "Peter? I mean, Mr. Stone?"

Peter winced. He hadn't been able to get Thea off of his mind - as evidenced by the Stubhub ads for Pretty Woman that now littered his browser.

"Uh….Peter's fine," he replied. "Sorry about your shirt."

Visibly startled, Thea blinked at him and shook her head. "Oh, no, it's fine. I actually hate this shirt." It was, Peter observed, a dark purple t-shirt, reveal

sizes too big, with no obvious reason to hate it, other than a handful of tiny holes littered over the fabric. Thea caught sight of his scrutiny and laughed lightly. "It's my travel shirt and my ex bought it for me. I usually wear it to the theatre, since he had no concept of sizing. Over time, I sort of built superstition into it and I've been looking for a sign to get rid of it, since apparently the break-up wasn't enough." She pulled the wet fabric away from her chest and beamed at the huge coffee stain. "Looks like this is unsalvageable. So you've done me a favor."

Peter blinked at her monologue. "That's….probably one of the weirdest stories i've heard in a while." He laughed, "But I guess I'm happy to help?"

"Actors," Thea shrugged, as if that explained everything.

"Actors," Peter agreed, a smile playing at his lips. He bit the inside of his cheek and decided to take a gamble. "Uh, it was good to see you again. Would - that is - Jesus, I used to be good at this."

Thea watched him stumble, a mischievous look in her eyes. She grinned up at him, "Despite the fact that you turned me down two months ago, I see that you've learned the error of your ways." She snagged a napkin off of a nearby table and fished a Sharpie out of her purse. Jotting down her number quickly, she said, "Text me sometime, Peter. But don't wait two months again, okay?"

Smiling at her brashness, Peter took the offered napkin and nodded, "Okay."

"Good," Thea grinned. "Now go on, I think Detective Rollins is waiting for you."

They both turned to look out the front window, where, sure enough, Amanda Rollins was watching their interaction, an absolutely shit-eating grin on her face. Peter groaned. He almost liked it better when Benson and her squad had ignored him, instead of prying into his personal life. With a small wave to Amanda, Thea said a happy good-bye to Peter and headed off to stand on line. Peter left the coffee shop and, ignoring Rollins' aggressive questioning, pulled out his phone.

* * *

Inside the coffee shop, Thea's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the message from an unknown number.

**you and me. wolfgang's steakhouse. friday after your show.**

Thea grinned as she typed a response, her thumbs flying over the screen.

_well, that was fast! meet me by the stage door and i might even sign an autograph for you ;)_

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this has been in the works for a while - it's 13 pages on Word lol. This is the official first meeting between Peter Stone and Thea Sadler, the OC I created to play with him. Let me know what you think!
> 
> And yes, Thea's in Pretty Woman The Musical because Andy Karl's in Pretty Woman The Musical - which I saw over the summer and fell absolutely in love with!
> 
> Seriously, drop me a review and let me know what you think of Thea and if there's anything you'd like to see me write about her and Peter :)


End file.
